Can-closing machine



P. W. FLEISCHER.

CAN CLOSING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 050.3.1915.v

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

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UNITED stares PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL W. FLEISCHER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAN COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

V CAN-CLOSING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 28, 1920.

Original application filed December 1, 1915, Serial No. 64,494. Divided and this application filed December 3, 1915. Serial No. 64,846.

I and useful Improvement in Gan-Closing Machines, of which the followingis a specification.

The invention relates to can closing machines, and more particularly to such machines wherein a seaming head is employed for making a hermetic seam by the action of seaming rollers. When the use of such a machine is begun on a certain run or size of cans it is necessary to bring all parts of the machine, and particularly the seaming This is done by experiment, to get a tight and satisfactory seam, by operating the machine slowly by hand, with close observation of the moving parts, the ordinary power mechanism being thrown out of operation. During such experimentation many of the moving parts, which would work with great velocity under the usual conditions of power operation, are handled, and it would be very dangerous if high steam or electrical power could be applied while the mechanism is being so manually operated.

combined with the seaming head actuating mechanism and the power clutch or its equivalent, whereby the use of the hand operating mechanism automatically prevents the ordinary high power from being applied to actuate the seaming head, the combination being also such that said high power cannot be applied to the hand operating wheel or other device.

The invention consists in the parts and combinations thereof hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In order to, make the invention more clearly understood there is shown n the accompanying drawings means for carrying the same into practical effect, without limittion of acan closing machine, showing its power mechanism and handoperating devices, the same embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation, including the seaming head.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the fixed frame of the machine, in which is mounted to revolve a seaming head 87.

Cans to be seamed and closed are auto- 'mat1cally or otherwise fed or supplied to said head in such manner that the flanges of the can A and of its end are operated upon by the first and second operation rolls 159, 159 of the head in a known manner,

' to scam the said flanges. rollers, lnto accurate tlmed adJuStment.

The seaming head comprises vertically sliding cams which operate levers, which in turn act on radially movable slides carrying said seaming rolls. The head also comprises a central upper chuck which cooperates with the rolls' in the formation of the seam, and a vertically sliding can clamping and knockout member. The can ends are automatically fed to the filled open-top cans, and the latter are lifted up through a centering device to receive said ends and 1 be presented to the seaming head. Further descrlption of these parts is not necessary to The present improvements comprise means,

cent the worm 381 and also keyed to the power shaft 380 is a beveled gear 383 which meshes with and drives a bevel pinion 384:

fixed on the upper end of the vertical shaft .217 of the seaming head drive gear (not shown). By wheel 136 and screw 135 the seaming head casing 131 may be adjusted vertically leaving the seaming head drive gear in driven connection with the shaft 217 by a feather key in a known manner.

The worm gear 382 is rotatably mounted upon a sleeve 387 keyed to the vertical cam shaft 59. The lower end of this sleeve is provided with an annular collar 388 upon which the worm gear 382 rests. Above the worm gear and vertically slidably mounted upon the sleeve 387 by means of a feather key is an outer sleeve 392. This second sleeve is also provided at its lower end with an annular collar 393 which bears upon the ring 390 in the worm gear 382. The ring 390 is provided in its upper face with two beveled notches 394 located off center or non-diametrically and adapted to receive and normally retain two case hardened steel beveled blocks 395 (Fig. 1) secured in recesses designed to receive the same in the lower face of the collar 393 of the sleeve 392. Bearing upon the upper face of the collar 393 is a compression spring 396 which is adjustably held under tension by a lock nut 397 threaded onto the upper end of the inner sleeve 387.

In timing the machine or adjusting the seaming rolls it is necessary that the mechanism may be operated slowly by hand with the power turned off. And it'is highly desirable that the power mechanism be so antomatically independent of the hand actuating mechanism that an operative cannot be injured by the latter (if he should have hold of it) when the power mechanism is reconnected. To this end the hand mechanism is automatically disconnected and rendered totally inoperative when the power mechanism is active, and vice versa. To provide for this there is slidably mounted In a bearing 398, preferably formed integral with the gear casing 377, a horizontal forwardly extending shaft 399. This shaft carries at its forward end a hand wheel 400 and at its rear extremity has fixed thereon a pinion 401 which may mesh with a gear wheel 402 keyed to the horizontal power shaft 380. Pivoted upon a supporting bearing 403, secured to the gear casing 377 and opposite the shaft 399, is a clutch operating hand lever 404. This lever extends forwardly and has pivoted thereto as at 405 one end of a link 406. The link 406 extends across the front of the machine and has its other end pivotally connected as at 407 to one arm 408 of a bell crank lever 409. This bell crank is mounted so as to swing in a plane above that of the shaft 399, upon a supporting bearing 410 also on the gear casing 377. The arm 411 of this bell crank 409, overhangs the shaft 399 and is provided with a downwardly projecting lug 412 which engages behind a collar 413 secured to the said shaft. The main power clutch 413' through which the machine is driven conmeets the shaft 380 with the belt or power wheel 419 and is thrown into and out of operation by a pivoted shifter fork or yoke 414 on the end of a yoke lever 415. This lever is pivotally connected as at 416 to one end of a link 417 which extends forwardly along the side of the gear casing 377 and has its forward end pivoted to the clutch operating lever 404 at the same point where the link 406 is connected.

It will be seen that by moving the clutch operating lever 404 outwardly about its pivot or bearing 403 it will force the link 417 rearwardly, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thereby swinging the yoke lever 415 about its pivot 416 to release the clutch spring 418 and allowing the same to bring enough pressure to bear upon the otherwise freely revolving power drive pulley 419 to engage the same frictionally with disks keyed to the shaft and transmit the power to the latter. l/Vhen the clutch lever 404 is so swung outwardly to apply the power to the machine it swings the bell crank lever 409 about its pivot through the medium of the connecting link 406. This will cause the downwardly projecting lug 412 on the arm 411 of the said bell crank to engage the collar 413 on the shaft 399 and to slide the said shaft forwardly in its bearing 398, disengaging as it does so the pinion 401 from i the gear wheel 402 of the power shaft 380. When however the clutch lever 404 is again swung to the right, thereby compressing the clutch spring 418 and releasing the clutch, the link 406 will force the bell crank 409 around, disengaging as it does so the lug 412 from the collar 413 on the hand shaft 399, and allow the same to be slid inwardly, thereby permitting the pinion 401 to engage the gear wheel 402, if it is desired to manually operate the machine. If the power clutch be engaged and the hand wheel 400 and shaft 399 be'thrust inward for engagement of the hand power, the collar 413 will, through the connections described, cause said clutch to be disengaged. The engagement or application of either power thus causes the disengagement of the other; but the disengagement of either power does not apply or affect the other.

By seaming head I include various can end attaching means. Such means may be a clencher which crimps the head loosely on to a can, all around the circumference or in spots. Also, when the seaming head is used, only the first operation or curling roll may be put in operation, the complete hermetic seaming by the second operation being done by any suitable means after processing the filled and partly or loosely closed can; and the words closing machine are not limited to a machine which hermetically closes the cans.

This application is a division of my copending application, Serial No. 64,494, filed Dec. 1, 1915.

What is claimed is 1. In a can closing machine the combination of can-seaming mechanism comprising a seaming roll, a main power mechanism, a hand-operated power mechanism, a clutch operable to connect said main power mechanism with said seaming mechanism to drive the same, and means separate from and independently mounted relative to the clutch elements and moving with the shiftable clutch element whereby said hand-operated mechanism is connected with the seaming mechanism when the main power mechanism is disconnected and the seaming roll is to be adjusted, and whereby said hand-0perated mechanism is disconnected from the seaming mechanism when the main power mechanism is connected.

2. In a can closing machine, the combination of a power element, a can seaming mechanism, a clutch whereby said seaming mechanism 1s connectible with said power element, a gear wheel connected with said seaming mechanism for actuating the same irrespective of the power element, a gear pinion which is slidable into and out of engagement with said gear wheel, means for turning said pinion by hand, a clutch-operating device, and means connecting the clutch-operating device with said pinion to simultaneously slide the same out of engagement with the gear wheel when the clutch connects the power element with the seaming mechanism, and to engage the pinion when the clutch disconnects the power element from the seaming mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature hereto.

PAUL W. FLEISCHER. 

